Page 67 of See You There

“He’s just like a fucking pimp! He owns her.”

James made a warning noise and looked over Luke’s shoulder.

Fuck!He knew without looking that Dahlia had heard him.

Luke swiveled to look at her. Dahlia’s face was pale, bright red hectic spots splashed over each cheekbone. But the worse part, by far, was the pain in her eyes.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.” Luke scrubbed a hand over his jaw.

“Yes, you did.” The slight wobble in her voice gave her away. Dahlia wasn’t as serene underneath her mask as she’d like them to believe. “But you aren’t completely wrong.”

“The good news is it looks like this expires next week,” James said.

“This morning was the first time he realized you weren’t going to sign a new contract. That’s why he was so angry?”

Dahlia walked around the sofa and took a seat on the recliner, tucking her legs up. Crimson toenails flashed at him before they disappeared under the cotton leggings she had put on.

“Yes.”

“Unhappy enough to…” James let the question hang in the air.

Dahlia’s brows knit together. “I don’t think so. Not before I’d signed with someone else.” Her lips twisted. “I’ve known him a long time. Victor won’t give up until the ink is dry on a new contract. Now, if I already had new representation… maybe then.”

James shifted uncomfortably and tried to catch Luke’s eye. Luke knew what his brother was thinking without him having to say it. Dahlia sounded alarmingly dispassionate about the fact she considered her longtime manager capable of killing her.

Dahlia must have noticed their reaction because she added in her too-calm voice, “If Victor wanted to hurt me, there are other ways.”

“Scott?” Luke threw the word out to see what her response would be. He only felt a tiny bit guilty when she paled. That name had evoked a powerful response in her at the radio station, and when Luke saw it again in her contract, his antennae had gone up. Dahlia was hiding something.

“I heard you arguing with Victor this morning. He mentioned a Scott. Is the Scott English in your contract the same one? The consultant?”

Dahlia licked her lips but didn’t answer at first. Alarm bells rang loudly in Luke’s head.

A resigned expression came over her face. “Yes, that’s who Victor meant.”

Luke’s neck tensed at her non-answer. She was being deliberately difficult after someone had tried to kill them! This wasn’t the time for games. His voice was harsh when he asked, “Who is Scott English, and how can Victor use him against you?”

The muscles in Dahlia’s throat worked, and her knuckles whitened where she gripped the arms of the chair. She let out a little puff of breath, and for a second, Luke thought she might cry.

Everything in him recoiled. He wanted to tell her to forget about it. It wasn’t important. Not worth her being so upset. But Luke couldn’t. He needed to know the truth.

Dahlia’s body stilled as she took a deep breath. Her hands relaxed, and she raised her eyes to Luke’s. She looked so sad. Defeated. He braced himself for what came next, but it wasn’t enough to save him from the shock.

“He’s my husband.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

If she hadn’t been dyinginside, Dahlia might have found the identical looks of astonishment comical. James gaped at her, and then at his brother, before schooling his features into a neutral expression.

But Luke. Oh god. Luke.

He was slower to respond, as if she had said the words in a foreign language. Understanding slowly washed over his face, the planes of his face stark with anger. His lips rolled in, and he sucked a furious breath through his nose.

“You’re married.” His voice dripped with contempt, and it took all of her training not to flinch.

She nodded and held tight to her fingers, now clasped in her lap. Dahlia knew Luke was reliving the heated moments between them after the photo shoot.

She was a slut.